Indian shooter and Arjuna Awardee Manu Bhaker on Thursday questioned the Commonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) decision to not name shooting in the list of 16 sports and announced that Victoria will host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
She posted a screenshot of it on social media News18.com reportsAsk Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra and Indian Sports and Youth Minister Anurag Thakur to take action “before it is too late”.
“The British and Australian athletes participating in these events are at the back and afraid of us. IOA, Narinder Batra and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur must take a decision before it is too late. Shooting has been abandoned only in 2022 and in 2026. They are aiming for an event where India is doing well,” Manu Bhaker wrote on Twitter.
Even though other sports can be added to the initial list of 16 sports for CWG 2026 later this year, it does not currently include shooting and wrestling, in which India has done well in previous editions. Archery is also not on the list.
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Indian wrestlers won 12 medals, including five gold medals, while the country’s shooters won 16 medals, including seven gold. As far as archery is concerned, which participated in only two editions of the Commonwealth Games in 2010, India won eight medals, including three gold medals, in New Delhi.
National Rifle Association of India general secretary Kunwar Sultan Singh described the CGF’s decision as “devoid of logic or logic”.
“The refusal of filming from the Commonwealth Games for the second year in a row is disappointing, shocking and completely illogical. It is unfair to shooters around the world preparing for such an important multi-sport event. I would request the Government of India and the AIO to take up the matter with the concerned authorities of the CGF to include the sport in the schedule of the Victoria 2026 Games,” Singh told TOI.
“A concerted effort from the government and the IOA is required to reverse this decision. United World Wrestling must do something to ensure that wrestling finds its rightful place in the Commonwealth Games. TOI quoted an official of the Wrestling Federation of India as saying.
The process of bringing a sport to the Commonwealth Games was set out last year by the Commonwealth Games Federation’s “strategic roadmap” for the 2026–2030 period, when the host country can choose from a core sporting group, including shooting and wrestling. . “Audience friendly”.
The list of sports in Victoria includes men’s and women’s T20 cricket and beach volleyball because these games are ‘relevant to their nation or culture’.
Wrestling historically has not been a priority for many Commonwealth countries, it is a stronghold in countries such as Iran, China, Japan, the US and Russia. India and Pakistan have in the past topped the mat against below-average opponents as most other Commonwealth Games participating countries were not known for their “wrestling culture”. In fact, the game was not even a part of the Melbourne Games in 2006.
Australia performed better in shooting, winning 16 gold medals out of a total of 28 medals in the Gold Coast. The infrastructure of the host sites can be a bottleneck.
“Victoria will have a phased approach to creating a sports program for 2026. An initial 16 sports have been proposed for the Games, with more to be added later this year,” the Commonwealth Games Federation said in a statement. a statement.
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